A special event at United Nations headquarters in New York was organised on February 14 by UN staff to give a call to end violence against women and support the global event ONE BILLION RISING (OBR) of Eve Ensler's global civil society campaign, which also shares this goal.

The event was organized by UNiTE as part of the 'End Violence against Women campaign' of the UN Women which was launched by the UN in 2008 as an inter-agency to galvanize stronger mobilization, awareness and action to end violence against women and girls.

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On the occasion of OBR, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. “The global pandemic of violence against women and girls thrives in a culture of discrimination and impunity. We must speak out. That is why I launched my global UNiTE to End Violence against women campaign. As part of this, I am proud to emphatically raise my voice and join the chorus of all those taking part in the One Billion Rising campaign.”

I encourage all of you to call on your leaders to join this effort. On this special day, I urge all governments to send us a Valentine message: a concrete commitment of action to end violence against women and girls,” he added.

UN Women Executive Director Michele Bachelet in her message said that women must unitedly rejectvarious forms of violence against them and refute the culture of shame they are made to suffer.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, said in his speech, “Today, we rise. In the weeks to come, we stand tall. And when the Commission on the Status of Women opens in March, let us continue our determined struggle for an end to violence against women and children.”

Underling the need for political commitment, UNiTE Campaign Manager Aldijana Sisic said, “To truly end violence, we must make sure that it does not happen in the first place. The only way we can do that is if we build new generations of young people who believe in the right to a life free of violence.”